1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a screen assembly for rain gutters and, more particularly, to a screen assembly especially suited for use at the inside corners of rain gutters or in areas of rain gutters exposed to high volumes of water, e.g., near downspouts from second stories or the like, “bar areas” or outside miters.
2. Description of Background Art
Rain gutters are in common use on building structures to control the run off of water from the roof of the associated building. Problems arise with respect to the collection of debris in the gutters and with respect to water cascading off of the roof of the structure and falling onto the ground below. The cascading water problem is particularly acute in inside corner situations where water cascades down the corner valley formed where two different surfaces of the roof intersect and also in areas of the gutters exposed to high volumes of water flow.
Various assemblies have been proposed to address the problem of debris accumulation and the cascading problem in inside corner and high volume scenarios, but none of the proposed assemblies have been totally satisfactory.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,765,743 discloses a screen assembly for an inside rain gutter course that is an improvement over prior assemblies and is effective in catching cascading water at inside corners of rain gutters. This assembly, however, is subject to certain disadvantages that result from the inner portion of the screen being unsupported and positioned under the adjacent shingles at the roof corner. The screen itself has no load strength and the breach of the adjacent shingles is undesirable. Also, the parallel nature of the screen as it relates to the shingles, especially on steep roofs, enables the cascading water to skid further and have the potential for overshoot, even with the extended distance of the screen assembly at the inside corner of the gutters.